Working the Faith Muscle

If you have ever gone to the gym and done a vigorous workout, or started any new exercise program, you will know what I mean when I reference the jello-ey feeling in your legs as you stagger your way to the shower. When I started working at Curves last winter and hit those machines after months of being away from them, I certainly felt the ache, even as I welcomed it. Same with walking. This fall I began walking again and I try to log in 2-3 miles every day. When I skip a day or two and try to hit the 3 mile mark the first day out, I never quite make it. I have to turn around at my 1 mile marker and head back to the house. I recently was given an exercise bike and since I use it only when the weather is just too nasty for a walk, and it uses muscles in a different way, I come away from that feeling wiped. But I value that feeling of invigoration as the endorphins kick in and I like knowing my body is getting stronger and my jeans are fitting better. Exercise is good. I am making my muscles stronger.

My faith muscle is getting a real workout again too. We are moving into the winter season where work is progressively slower especially in construction. Every year we go through this but the last couple of winters, in our present economy, it's been tougher than most. We barely squeaked through October and now here comes November and we've got trouble. I won't start my new job for another week and it will be 3 weeks out from that start date before I see a paycheck. Bruce has a few jobs lined up for the month but they are short turnarounds meaning the money comes in fits and spurts. It adds an extra layer of challenges to sitting down at the desk to pay bills when you need to collect money all month before you have enough to send it in all the directions it needs to go.

Next month is our mission trip to Costa Rica to work at the children's home there. We've been planning this since last spring. We are so excited to go and we are so grateful and amazed at how God is orchestrating things. Our airfare has already been purchased and we have raised the money for the materials for the needed repairs. Funding for our lodging, meals and ground transport is a worry I try not to dwell on. Every time we have gone on missions the funding has come through and I try to rest in that. Still, with the constant pressure to find ways to pay the regular monthly expenses it does wear at me when I think about the lump sum needed to make this trip happen.

Aaagh, I know you have walked through this with me before, dear readers. God is faithful. He supplies our needs in amazing ways!! I guess my concern-- complaint if I am truly honest, is the constant living in "Crisis Mode" that wears me down. Like those muscles that are left shaky after a good workout, my Faith Muscle feels shaky too. I know it's being strengthened and this is good but wow, some days I am left panting, exhausted, desperate for rest.

Blessings in Missions

My heart is full. I have so many things of comfort around me. A warm house. A full pantry. My sweet set of wheels is back up and running after several months of waiting for the funds to repair the brakes. God has blessed us and I don't take this for granted. I am aware of how many others I know who may not feel they can say that. And I know how close I have come in past months to not having the funds to keep my house warm or pantry full. How close I have come to not being able to keep my house --period! I've known what it means to go without and to pinch and save and wonder how we will make it through another month. Or week. Or day.

Last weekend at our Saturday night Soup and a Service, we had a visitor in our midst who is homeless. He was camping out in the woods behind the church building. We were limited in what we could offer this man other than a hot bowl of soup, words of encouragement and a suggestion of places to go that would offer most assistance than we are equipped to offer.

As we move into colder weather I am more mindful of those who have no home to go to and limited resources to draw from for support. As I wrap another blanket around me, or draw on a thick fuzzy sweater, light a fire in my woodstove and sip from my mug of hot tea, I am more mindful of how cozy and blessed I am.

And it makes me all the more eager to go to Costa Rica this December to help at the children's orphanage there. Yes, there are so many things we can  (and do) get involved with in our own backyard. Bruce and I are very committed to serving in local community outreach. But in God's economy there are no boundaries between countries. We are ALL God's children and if there is a way to serve, we should do so.

Bruce and I have felt called to go to Costa Rica and help. We are going with friends who have established a non-profit (ABINA)  that is working exclusively with a ministry in Central America. The childrens homes there need a punch list completed in order to gain a permanent residency permit for the children who will live there. Bruce will be using his construction skills to help complete these tasks and I will be working with the director of the orphanage, helping her develop her blog so she can increase awareness of the ongoing needs. I am also looking forward to playing in the kitchen a little with the kids, making christmas cookies!

We will be there for 2 weeks in December. Our airfare has already been purchased. We are still working on raising the funds to cover our accommodations, meals and transportation needs while we are there. We still need to raise about $2000 for the two of us.  Our Chili Cook Off Fundraiser in July was a BIG boost to the overall ministry of ABINA, for the materials needed to do the work that remains on the punch list. It's a huge undertaking and not one that Bruce and I approach lightly. Every one of our mission trips has been made possible because of the generous support of family and friends. We appreciate it so much!! It is hard to put into words how much that kind of giving touches us. Truth be told, we cringe at asking for this kind of help. We'd love to be able to just whip out our checkbooks and write our own tickets. But God has made it clear to us that He choses to work in other ways when it comes to our mission adventures. So we obediently commit to the the projects He lays on our hearts, humbly present our requests and then faithfully expect God to work miracles.

Philippians 4.6  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Psalm 5.3 Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.


To learn more about Abina please click HERE . You can also check out the Abina Facebook page and request to be added to the group to get updates. You can also visit their Word Press Blog. 

DONATIONS, if you so feel led, can be made out to ABINA Ministries and sent directly to Abina, PO Box 294, Deming, Wa 98244. In the memo line please indicate our names. thank you so much~~ God bless you!

Blessings in a Bean!

ABINA stands for A Blessing IN A---- (we let God fill in the blank) and this time it was a BEAN. 
A Chili Bean! 

We had a wonderful time at our Saturday Fundraiser! 

We had a Chili King and Queen. 

We had a White Elephant Yankey Swap. 

We had pony rides, and Model A rides!

There was swimming and limbo and horseshoes. 

There were nachos and sourdough bread and a dessert table. 

And of course, there was Chili! 

We had 7 entries in the Chili Cook Off 

and we had some surprising wins from the Judges Choice and the Peoples Choice awards.

the judges in chambers, waiting for the samples to arrive so they can begin the judging.

some serious competition!

We had a power outage at 8 am which threatened us only a wee bit till the generator got put to use. Fortunately the power came back on before the event began!! 

We had sunny skies after some dark clouds rolled over. 

We had people trickling in all afternoon and generosity that amazed us. And we had, most certainly God's blessing over it all. And you can't ask for any more than that!

We learned after the day was over that we raised more than enough for the concrete and rebar needed for the home improvements on the orphanage. We also received via mail, an anonymous designated donation that will cover our airfare for the trip in December. THIS IS HUGE. I mean, God orchestrated things once again, right down to the penny!!  We will still need to raise funds to cover food and lodging and transportation while in country but I have NO doubt about God providing these funds as well. 

God has done this EVERY time Bruce and I have committed to going on a mission trip. Can I say again, if you are ever contemplating about signing up for any kind of mission adventure, don't let the amount needed for the event stop you from saying yes. 

Because, to quote the late, great Hudson Taylor; 

God's work, done in God's way, will never lack God's supplies. 

THANK YOU!!! FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS. 

Adventures in Missions!

Today I am supposed to be with my husband, helping with preparations for next Saturdays Fundraiser for our next mission adventure. (see picture)

Supposed to be.

Instead, I woke up with inflammation in all my joints which then led to my back going into spasms and now I am stuck at home feeling a little sorry for myself and a lot frustrated!!  And it's too warm to lay on a heating pad and ice won't do the trick in this case. I think that would make me tense even more and right now this *twinge* in my back needs to R-E-L-A-X!!!  I swear, my back goes out more than I do!!

Well, at the very least, let me use this opportunity to increase your knowledge about the mission trip we are going on in December. I think I've posted about this a little bit before but it's good to keep current events current!!

In December Bruce and I will be going to Costa Rica for 2 weeks to help with work on an orphanage there. We will be traveling with the founders of ABINA ministries and working with two Christian based orphanages... I will let co-founder Colette explain a little about ABINA and what they do:

 ABINA is short for "A Blessing In A...” The ending was purposely left blank to allow God the place to fill the need. 

Believing that all things are possible with God, that all blessings are from Him, and to walk by faith and not by sight alone, the dream of ABINA is in its third year of blessing others.
It is through giving that we become part of a greater whole, with the ultimate privilege of giving to not only those in need, but to our Lord Jesus Christ. 

With heartfelt appreciation, thank you for taking the time to learn more about ABINA and our current outreach projects for two Christian orphanages in Costa Rica. Hogar de Vida provides loving care for children aged newborn to ten years old, while Residence of Life cares for children newborn to 18 years of age who are not adoptable. 

You can read more about ABINA and follow their blog here

The fundraiser we are having next weekend is a Chili Challenge. Enter your pot of chili and perhaps you will be the winner! Or sign up to be a judge and do some taste-testing. Or just come out and have fun sampling chili, enjoying music, games, buggy rides and raffles. Its going to be a very fun day!

And there is still so much to do in preparations for it and here I sit-- or lay-- not able to do much of anything.  I suppose there's a lesson in all of this but right now I'm a little too close to see it.